It is very sad to see that our fisheries are in jeopardy because some people abuse their rights. It is indeed a problem that goes way back. In all fairness the Indians are not the only ones to abuse this power. There are endless numbers of poachers out there that have the same mentality. However with the issue at hand. I support a father/son relationship of sitting in a ice house and spearing a northern or two for the sake of bonding and their relationship and a good meal. I also back the notion of ancient heritage. I do agree that Indians should be able to spear going back to the way they did years and years ago. HOWEVER once it gets past that and people (regardless of who they are) start abusing their right to our GREAT NATURAL RESOURCES, something has got to be done. I do wish that the State of Minnesota, the reservations, and the DNR could come up with a better solution to this problem to assure that all involved are getting the fair end. I realize that this is far easier said than done. All we can do is to work together on such a hard topic like this. No one wants to see walleyes or northerns left to rot in a ditch. Remember that there are bad apples in every situation. Red Lake is a beautiful body of water and our DNR have worked very hard to get it back. Keep in mind that on lakes such as Leech Lake, the Indians harvest wild rice and I've seen non Indian people fly threw and destroy that rice for no apparent reason. They have no regard for what the Indians develop. Same as some Indians just have thrown walleyes in the ditch. I cuts both ways. I'm not saying its all fair. But we can all do our part to consider the other side. Hopefully one day we all will realize that there doesn't have to be a other side, and we can all start living with same rules and regulations.

dont get me wrong i to like spearing but we all have the same limit and most people fallow the rules itsjust the whole red lake tribes attitude toward Minnesotans on a human level they keep saying that there part of nature but yet they keep doing things that hurt nature when i talk about fish on the bank i ment its just a shame to see those monster fish taken out of the loop as in being taken before they spawn the Indians utilize the fish far as i know but if they would just be a little more conservative and use what they only needthere are walley farms that dont hurt the inviorment around the state so why would they reopen thier fish packing plant because its all about the dollers they dont care what happens to milacs or red and even winny

1. It is true that a fish is still as dead whether I caught him on hook and line or put a spear through his body. The difference is that to catch him on hook and line I had to implore some degree of skill to hook ,fight, and land him. Spearing removes that and allows me to "cheat" as it were. I find this very disrespectful to the fish species and an insult to sportmanship and ethics.

2. I see as hypocritical those folks who are against allowing the tribes to spear fish while in the same breath they defend their own right to sit in an ice house and spear fish.

If we can allow guys to brutally spear a fish through the ice why don't we just allow shotguns and dynamite as well?

First off welcome to the site. I see you are an avid fisherman and your in the right place. This is a great discussion you started. Being an avid tournament bass fisherman I never really looked into this problem until I read all the posts on the forum. Bass are not exactly the preferred fish for spearing and netting so it never really caught to much of my attention. Since then I have done more research. There is definitely a problem with what is going on. Obviously something needs to be done to reassure that our precious lakes and it's fish stay healthy for not just us but for endless generations.

I understand what you are saying 100%. I am the type of fisherman who doesn't even use live bait because deep down I feel it takes away from the skill level of fishing. (Easy walleye guys. I am not aiming that at you. I would to use a leech or a minnow on occasion if I was actually walleye fishing.) Although fish eat live prey all day naturally. I want to trick them into biting something that is fake. Just my opinion but I think it is more of a skill that way. Bass are more of a sport fish than a game fish. I have never speared a fish in my life. Nor do I have any desire to. Although there are plenty of people who I believe still have that right. Indian or ice fisherman a like. It doesn't matter in my opinion. Now I am not talking about mass destruction or even anything close to it. I'm merely saying that if that is a persons idea of enjoying the outdoors than so be it. Again as long as all are abiding by their state laws and regulations. I do think that certain laws should be tighter though. I think it is a lot like hunting. Tell me, does a deer have a better chance than a northern pike when someone is standing in the tree with a bow? Or how about a high powered rifle and a thousand dollar scope? I understand what you are saying. To a degree I agree. However I think that if someone choses to harvest fish legally in that method, they hold that right. Whether its an ancient tribal tradition or someone great grandfather passed that tradition on to them. As long as they don't abuse it, they should be able to continue that tradition.

you have a good point StickUm I totally understand your point about using artificial bait i do the same I mainly use plastics for the same purpose i guess we are just far and few between trying to make it more challenging i fish mostly crappies plastics are the key most of the time sure live bait is good at some points of the year but to me its just a rush to use artificial it just makes you a better fishermen

"Do people know what is done with these fish after they are harvested? I assume they go to help feed the people on the reservation. Or are they sold commercially? Although I am not sure what impacts this has on our lakes. I tend to think it must not be that bad if Mille Lacs can be maintained as a level as good as it is."

Many of these Walleye are sold for profit- Netted walleyes being sold for 2 dollars per pound. The Wisconsin bands have commercial licenses, they are allowed to commercially net mille lacs & sell.

As for it not being bad for lake health- This info is directly from our Aitkin DNR wing nuts, spent many hours talking with them. They also sent a 100 page pamphlet of how they manage mille lacs, all the numbers, etc.. Mille Lacs Lake had a Walleye SSB (spawning stock biomass) of 3.2 million the year netting started, the SSB in 2010 was 1.7 million.Smallmouth Bass populations have quadrupled during this time frame, along with other species growing in numbers.

Now take those numbers into consideration while knowing a lake can only sustain a certain PPA (pound per acre)of fish, of any/all species. The Walleye SSB is almost half what it was while SMB have quadrupled, Rock Bass are also way up. The PPA is changing, it is lopsided from where it was. Can Walleye numbers grow when other species are taking up more of this PPA? What happens when this PPA keeps changing as more & more SSB Walleyes are netted, will our DNR step in? These SSB walleye are protected from us, except for the mortally hooked/released fish. Who is killing the vast majority of SSB Walleye in Mille Lacs?

I've spent many hours learning from our Aitkin DNR, asked a LOT of questions, many of which they didn't care for as they went against their beliefs. During all the learning/questioning, I was posting in a fishing forum all correspondence to/from our DNR. Found out our DNR reads that site & let me know they didn't care for what I was doing, correspondence from them soon after stopped.

Not once, never, did anyone at our Aitkin DNR acknowledge that netting has anything to do with Mille Lacs fish numbers & when I asked that direct question, several times,they sidestepped it like it was never asked.

If anyone cares to ask questions/try to find answers, email any of the following-